A vehicle repeatedly rammed into the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters in Brooklyn on Wednesday night, causing the Jewish staple to be evacuated.
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
A driver repeatedly rammed their vehicle into the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters in Brooklyn on Wednesday night, causing the Jewish house of worship to be evacuated.
Members of the Jewish community watched in horror in Crown Heights at 8:46 p.m. on Jan. 28 as the operator of a vehicle with New Jersey license plates repeatedly rammed into the doorway of 770 Eastern Pkwy. in Crown Heights.
As shown in video circulated on social media, the driver reversed and then accelerated the car forward repeatedly, sending the wooden front doors imploding inward.
“Call the police,” one person could be heard screaming in an online video.
After several minutes, the driver emerged from the vehicle and told a responding officer, “it slipped,” referring to his vehicle. He was then immediately taken into custody.
According to police sources, the NYPD Emergency Service Unit responded to the scene, evacuated the building, and swept the vehicle for weapons. The NYPD Bomb Squad was also called in as a precaution. The results of that search are not yet known.
Police have set up a perimeter around the Chabad Lubavitch headquarters and asked the public to maintain a distance as they conduct an investigation.
The headquarters serves as the central hub of the worldwide Chabad Lubavitch Hasidic movement — housing its synagogue, offices, and study halls. An iconic site in Judaism, the building has served as the spiritual and administrative center for thousands of Chabad institutions worldwide since 1940.
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